The Australian Convict Sites World Heritage Floor TalkFremantle Prison

The Australian Convict Sites World Heritage Floor Talk

Join Heritage Conservation Manager Luke Donegan as he discusses the Australian Convict Sites World Heritage Property, including Western Australia’s only World Heritage listed building, Fremantle Prison.

In 1972, UNESCO adopted the World Heritage Convention to promote cooperation among nations to protect heritage around the world that has such outstanding universal value that it must be preserved for current and future generations. Thus the World Heritage list was created, which today contains over 1000 sites of supreme cultural and natural heritage significance.

In 2010, the Australian Convict Sites, a collection of eleven sites across Australia including Fremantle Prison and Port Arthur, were placed on the World Heritage List. The sites represent the forced migration of over 165 000 men, women and children from Great Britain to Australia in the 1700s and 1800s. The convicts were transported as punishment for their crimes and tasked with building a modern Australia.

Join us for a discussion of Fremantle Prison’s historic significance, the formation of the Australian Convict Sites, and the threats and challenges faced by these sites and others on the World Heritage List today.

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